A little help?

I have a journalism friend, Ted Ingram, going to biz school who needs some assistance:

I was wondering if you have come across anyone who studies "best practices" for copy editor staffing and evaluation.

I've been thinking about how newspapers decide how to decide optimal copy desk staffing. And after copy editors have been hired, how do newspapers know they're getting the most/best out of them. Has anyone ever tried to build a business case for copy editors? Or does anyone even worry about these things?

All help is appreciated.

Let me know what you know, and I'll pass it on.